The Battle of a True Master
by Sapphiria
Summary: The Ketchums have always been a family of Aura Guardians, but Ash wants to be a Pokémon Master. It doesn't help her aura manifested too early making her defective. Using what powers she has, she will show everyone she can be a Master even without the basic abilities of her family and do it with her Pokémon by her side. She'll be the very best, like no one ever was. Fem!Aura!Ash AU
1. Progression

**Hi there!**

 **So, first things first, I've gotta warn people that this contains genderbending in a singular form as in only 1 character will have a gender change. If you don't like it then I am not forcing you to read this story so you don't have to, there are almost 100,000 Pokemon stories on this site which may suit your tastes better than this does so please can flames be kept to a minimum... constructive criticism is fine (Minus the whole 'Your spelling is wrong since you write in the Queen's English' thing which I hate)... but yeah, warning over I guess!**

 **This Au contains differences to the anime of the following:**

 **1\. Pokemon can learn any move from their move set. I know this is common but I like doing it, four moves really doesn't show off the true potential of a Pokemon and I like the idea that Pokemon don't just forget a move. A four move limit can be placed on things such as Gym Battles and the like if it bugs people but it's staying around.**

 **2\. The starting age is 16. Lets just say some bad things happened involving Pokemon and ten year olds resulting in a rising of the age range. If the anime is to be believed, and this is an anime AU, then most ten year olds aren't entirely smart when they start out on their journeys and haven't had enough time in basic education to do things for themselves, thus we have six more years of education and less unfortunate accidents happening.**

 **3\. If placed in the top 8 of a League, your holding capacity will increase by six. It makes things easier for me to keep a team and make a new one since I am thinking about adding trips to Hoenn and Sinnoh to the list. A max amount of Pokemon allowed on a person is respondent to 18 new slots meaning, at most, trainers can carry 24 Pokemon with them.**

 **4\. Two league wins gains entry to the Master League. I know that sounds tough but Master Leagues are made only to test the best of the best, one league win shows you have promise, two means you're ready to take it one. Master Leagues happen once every five years so it gives time and chance for a trainer to develop and grow. The winner of the Master League is awarded the role of Pokemon Master.**

 **So, that's it for now, I think. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Progression**

In the middle of an empty, grass covered field, a lone figure sat meditating under the warming heat of the mid-spring sun, trying with relative ease to ignore the world around them. Their ember eyes were unmoving behind closed eyelids, tanned skin reflecting countless hours of training out in the harsh sunlight. The wind blew through their long black hair – most of which was tied up into a ponytail with a few loose spikes poking out at the sides and down to form a sort of fringe – and ruffled their simple clothing of a black t-shirt and dark blue tracksuit bottoms. They – the figure was actually a girl – were oblivious to everything, or so it seemed. What anyone who may have stumbled across this scene couldn't see was what was happening behind those closed eyes.

For the girl, the world was an array of life and colour, shining brightly across the darkness. Vivid outlines of the trees and the Pokémon in her range of eyesight graces her as she remained still and silent. Deep inside she had a feeling that something wasn't right and continued remaining in her current state. A sudden sense alerted her to a powerful being nearby that was coming ever closer. She didn't move until the aura was right behind her and she threw her eyelids open. Almost in a split second, she went from cross-legged sitting to using her left leg to block a punch that was aimed for the back of her head, locking herself and her attacker into a deadlock situation. The attacker couldn't move his fist lest it give her chance to kick him whilst she couldn't do the same for the near enough same reasons.

Like she was, her attacker was basically dressed in a t-shirt trackie combo and they too had spiked black hair, but theirs was more downwards pointed, not that it mattered with that giant floppy hat that they constantly wore on their head. Cerulean blue orbs met her amber brown as they continued their stalemate. She knew that she had the disadvantage, soon enough her leg would grow tired and she would be in agony from keeping up there for so long. Luckily, she had a tactic for that. Slowly, she began to lower her limb, guiding the attacker into a false sense of security before she quickly swapped legs and sent him flying with a kick to the cheek.

Placing her right foot back on the ground, she lowered her gravity and took a defensive stance as her opponent pushed himself up. He spat the glob of blood that had pooled in his mouth from the impact and rubbed his jaw as he stood up, saying nothing. They entered another standoff, waiting to see who would crack first, who would throw caution to the wind and rush head first into a probably painful experience. The girl shifted her weight, placing most of it onto her back foot so she could get a powerful push off if such an instance was needed. He noticed this, concentrating his power to his hand, ready to form a sphere – or a shield – at a moment's notice.

They waited…

There was silence…

A breeze drifted through…

The chirp of a nearby Pidgey…

NOW!

She pushed off and ran towards the man, getting ready to summon her weapon as he raised his hand which had a pulsating blue sphere forming in the centre of his palm. Even though the situation seemed bleak, she couldn't help but grin. **5 metres, 4 metres**. The sphere had fully formed and was about to be fired. **3 metres, 2 metres**. She could feel the shaft of her weapon forming in her grasp.

 **1 metre…**

"STOP!"

The man gasped and lost concentration, causing the sphere to explode in his hand, sending both parties flying backwards in their respective directions and causing them to hit the ground harshly with loud thuds. Almost instantly after they had regained comprehension over their bodies and senses after the shockwave of the sphere's spontaneous combustion. Their looks of anger almost instantaneously faded into ones of disappointment with a partial addition of shock in the mixture.

A woman, one much older than the girl, was staring at them with an expression that could only be described as exasperation. Her hand found themselves following their usual routine, finding the familiar placement that they commonly had on her hips touching the fabric of her purple skirt. A yellow blouse was tucked into said skirt whilst a woollen pink cardigan covered most of it with an addition layer of warmth. The woman's eyes matched the girl's to a T, but her scrunchied hair was a chestnut brown colour over the darker tones of the other two. She stared at them, mixing between tutting and sighing loudly as her eyes flickered between them both.

"Seriously, Riley?" The woman stepped closer towards the male, shaking her head at him. "Only ten minutes ago I told you lunch was almost ready, and what do you do? Sometimes I wonder what on earth I was thinking when I married your brother, I really do."

"But, Delia…" Riley's objection was interjected by Delia's piercing glare which told him politely to shut his mouth or there would be consequences.

"No buts," she turned to the girl and sighed deeply, noticing the dried, flaky dirt that covered the items of clothing. "Can't you go five seconds without being dirty, Ash? Honestly…" Unlike her uncle, Ash saw no good reason for arguing with her mother, choosing instead to pretend to listen attentively whilst she actually droned the noise of another lecture out. The only thing she cared about were the words 'lunch' and 'ready'. As soon as she was sure her mother had finished lecturing her, she made a mad dash back home whilst ignoring the adults shouts since she really didn't care. Today was her last day in Pallet Town and tomorrow was her sixteenth birthday, the day she started her Pokémon journey.

~0~o~0~

Delia couldn't help but smile when she looked up from her meal to see niece and uncle eating so ferociously, it didn't help that Riley was her husband – Dylan's – twin brother, identical twin brother at that. Thinking about Dylan caused a stab of pain at her heart after all these years without him being there for his family. She had been told by the Elders of Aura that her husband was alive but doing work out of Kanto and couldn't come back, they went on to be deeply apologetic in the fact that they had no power over the situation.

Yeah right, they were the ones who sent him out the day Ash was born. No power over the situation her ass.

It wasn't just her husband's constant distance from herself and their daughter that made Delia hate these elders, there was something more important that made her want to stab a few of them in the heart and see how they like it. The so called 'Elders of Aura' were a bunch of elderly Aura Guardians that basically ran over the many Aura Clans of the world, sending members to teach the young how to use their abilities whilst instructing trained guardians on what missions they were to partake in. Some were simple like helping the local Pokémon Center or helping a Pokémon Ranger mission, whilst others were more dangerous. Delia wasn't worried that her daughter would be sent on one of these dangerous missions, far from it.

Ash would never be an Aura Guardian.

At least, not in the eyes of the elders.

Typically – or so Riley had told her – adepts in aura would show signs of it around the age of seven and would be trained from there until age sixteen where they would be gifted a starter with aura abilities such as a Riolu or Togepi. Ash, on the flip side, was a defect. Why? Her aura had manifested itself when she was three years old. There was nothing anyone could have done; her husband was away and Riley was still living in Sinnoh at the time. Mother and daughter were watching a TV show about mythical humanoid monsters when one of them made a magical spear which her daughter then went ahead and copied somehow.

And yet that made her a defect because, I hear you ask? Well, it's pretty simple.

Apart from sensing auras and emotions, plus another feature that all Aura Guardians were taught, Ash couldn't learn any other aura techniques no matter how hard she tried to. When Riley came over to teach her the art of aura, he was shocked to learn what had happened four years prior and went straight to the elders, those elders then immediately labelled her daughter as the defect, not worthy to be a part of the Ketchum family Aura Clan.

Riley, however, never gave up on his niece. He continued to train her in what he could, including multiple forms of hand to hand and weaponry combat which may be useful in the future. Delia was grateful to him for being so supportive and for taking nine years out of his life to prepare her daughter for the day she was allowed out into the world. To be honest, Riley was more or less in awe of his niece's early start and, as time went on, he realised the lack of extra abilities wasn't a problem at all. By the time she was twelve, Ash had total control over the spears she could produce, making multiple or many; long or short, big or small ones without too much effort. Riley couldn't help but compare her to the ancient aura goddess of war, who could to the exact same things as she could. He had even begun to theorise why the comparison was as strong as it was but was shot down by the elders and told to leave the defect alone.

Like hell he was.

Even though he couldn't use the typical training an Aura Guardian could receive, he made his own version planned around the few skills his niece had and went from there. It made his job much easier, not having to juggle multiple techniques and Aura Guardian etiquette at the same time and instead focusing on empathy, sensing and her special skill. Ash, herself, wasn't all that bothered by the lack of an Aura Guardian status, constantly making jokes about her 'defective' status such as when she would laugh at Riley for having had his "ass beaten by a defect". The thing was, she never wanted to be an Aura Guardian.

Ash wanted to be a Pokémon Master.

Without Dylan around to punch the goal of Aura Guardian into her brain, Ash was practically given free will up until Riley showed up to give her training when she was seven, and by then she was already crazy about the idea. The girl loved Pokémon and, for some reason, the critters loved her back. Whether it was her kind and caring nature or her warm, comforting aura but Pokémon came to her like Venomoth to any light source. It only made sense for her to go down a Pokémon based career path and with both contests and performances seemed to girly – the latter being borderline sexist in Ash's book – it was obvious she'd choose to be a trainer. But not just any trainer, she wanted to be the best.

"So, planning one last training session?" Delia suddenly decided to speak up, trying to stop herself from laughing from the two sets of food full faces that looked up at her from their meal.

Riley swallowed what was in his mouth and nodded. "That's the plan Delia, I wanna make sure that this bag of trouble…" he ruffled Ash's hair which resulted in a glare from said girl. "… has perfected her other form before she leaves tomorrow cause Arceus knows she's gonna need it."

"Well don't do it for too long!" Delia huffed, narrowing her eyes at her brother in law. "You two need to freshen up afterwards for the birthday meal tonight."

"What birthday meal… OW!" Riley rubbed his head as the flat surface of an aura spear bashed him one. "Oh right, sorry Ash."

"I'll be a trainer tomorrow so it'll be the last family gathering," The fifteen-year-old told him sternly, the glare still ever present from earlier on when he tried to ruffle her hair. "And thanks to the elders, I can call and visit mum whenever I like since I'm going to be a trainer instead of an Aura Guardian. Right, mum?"

"Right," That was one of the few reasons why Delia was glad Ash was going to be a trainer over a guardian. She didn't want to lose her daughter and her husband to the will of the elders, it was bad enough they had full control over her husband and Riley included… well nearly full control over Riley. "I know I'll look forwards to hearing your adventures but promise me that you won't get into too much trouble out there."

"Mum…" It wasn't really Ash's fault that she was a trouble magnet, she just was and a part of her hated it with a passion.

"Ah, leave her be Delia," Riley shovelled the rest of his food in his mouth, placing his now empty plate down loudly. "With her aura training she should be fine. Speaking of, finish that plate off. We're doing one training match and then we'll come back here so your mother and I can work on the dinner, Miss birthday girl shouldn't have to lift a finger on her special but one day."

"Okay," Like her uncle, Ash wolfed down the rest of her plate but put it down gently and bowed her head in her mother's direction. "Thanks for lunch mum, it was delicious."

"You're welcome, at least you have my manners unlike your father," Delia sent a smug grin in Riley's direction, implying that the lack of manners applied to him as well which made the man grumble. "Now go and kick Riley's behind for me, will you sweetheart?"

"Oh, happily!" Riley did not like the evil glint in his niece's eyes, that meant trouble for him big time.

~0~o~0~

The two members of the Ketchum clan were walking to Professor Oak's lab for two reasons, one was to remind him he was invited to dinner at Delia's request and the second was to ask for the use for one of the ranch's fields for their sparring. Neither said anything as they were both thinking up creative ways to badmouth the other into losing their temper which could cost them their final fight's victory. Upon making it up the curling steep staircase to the laboratory's front doorstep, Riley knocked on the door three times.

The door opened revealing an aging man with greying brown hair, who was blinking wearily at the two people on his doorstep. His red shirt was tucked into light brown khakis and both were covered with a long-sleeved lab coat. Professor Samuel Oak's confusion instantly changed to joy as his face lit up at the sight of them.

"Ah, Ash and Riley…" A guilty smile adjourned his facial features. "If it's about later then there is no need to remind me, I know Delia must have sent you and…"

"Professor, please," Riley tried to calm him down and actually sent a wave of aura in the old man's direction which soothed his nerves and worries. "We are here to ask if you have any empty fields on the ranch? I want to finish Ash's training with a battle."

"Oh… OH!" Samuel nodded, now less on edge than he was earlier thanks to Riley's abilities. "Of course, there is one close to the lab that is not in use but please be wary of the Pokémon around you whilst you fight, okay?"

"Of course, Professor, we will." Ash promised before bowing in respect to him. "Thank you ever so much."

"No problem, my girl," Professor Oak smiled at her before inviting them through with a simple gesture of the arm. "Anything for relatives of Delia, I owe her a lot for what she did here as an assistant." They followed the professor through and thanked him once more as they left into an open space, much like the one they almost fought in until Delia interrupted them.

"So, what are the rules?" Ash asked, taking her place opposite from Riley.

"Aura Forms from the beginning," he explained, adjusting his hat fondly. "The aim is to incapacitate the opponent so they can't fight back, got it?"

"Got it."

"I'll go first," As he spoke, Riley began to glow with his aura and it began to swirl around him into a vortex, covering him from view. Ash had to cover her eyes from the brightness as her hair fluttered viciously in the winds whipped up by the spiritual power, she couldn't even use Aura Sense as it could possibly blind her from the pure light she would see from it. It took ten seconds for everything to be over, revealing her uncle in his Aura Guardian garbs, the exact same ones Sir Aaron wore around a thousand years prior. "Now, it's your turn."

Not saying a word, she nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. She imagined the feeling of her aura sweeping in circles around her, she felt everything change slowly as she was lifted up into the air slightly but put back down when the vortex vanished. Gone were her trackies, replaced by a turtle neck, sleeveless, blue top with a metallic, large band around her waist which connected to a metal made, light blue skirt like cover with an upside down v down the middle of the front. Blue, above the knee lenghted leggings met the skin to which a pair of black boots continued below. On her hands, white middle fingered, looped gloves tied with red string in a criss-crossing pattern and her hair was clasped back with three blue bands, with two short lengths falling over her shoulders.

"Perfect?" She asked with a cocky grin, placing her hands on her armour above the upper leg protection device.

"Pretty good, I'd say," Riley was actually very impressed on the inside, he'd only ever practised Aura Forms with Ash twice before, and she'd only ever got a partial form once. "Not a typical guardian uniform but it fits…"

The girl couldn't help but laugh. "Uncle, I'm a defect remember? Why would I be wearing your precious Elders' zombie outfit?"

"I detest the zombie analogy," he huffed as she continued to laugh at him. "For that remark young lady, I get to start… now!" Stopping her laughter, Ash only just managed to avoid an Aura Sphere to the face. The ball of pure energy hit a tree behind her, leaving a burnt indent as a reminder of what could have happened if it had it. She blinked as she stared at it for a bit, growling silently as she pushed her power into her hand to form a spear made entirely out of aura but that wasn't the beginning of it. Extending her arm harshly out to the side, an army of spears formed behind her, all pointed towards the man in the Aura Guardian garbs. Riley couldn't help but gulp at the sheer amount of pointy ended sticks that were about to skewer him if he wasn't careful, what his niece couldn't make up for with lack of quantity through her abilities, she could make up for with the control and quality of the ones she did have.

"What were you saying?" Ash asked sweetly, before pointing her finger at him, which sent the spears flying towards him like a swarm of Beedrill following their alpha's instructions. Riley formed a dome shield over himself just in time, causing the spears to push against it whilst trying to get in. Adding an extra push of power, he had flung them away from any form of danger, which then left him open for a close and personal attack. He only just managed to dodge the swipe of a sharp, pointed spear with a quick side step, which Riley managed to lead into with an Aura Sphere to the chest.

Ash was sent flying backwards with a yelp and she only just managed to rectify her positioning, flipping in the air to land on her own two feet. Knowing that she didn't want this fight to last forever, she thrust a clenched fist into the air, causing four spears to burst from the ground and trap her uncle as more joined them in a spinning ring around it. With another spear in her hands, she walked over with a huge grin on her face.

"You could form a makeshift weapon or shield to free yourself and stop the others from piercing you," she quickly held her weapon so that the pointed edge was as close to his throat as it physically could be without any movement causing injury. "But this little bad boy should tell you otherwise."

Riley looked down at the ground, only to laugh whilst he raised his hands in surrender. "I yield, I yield." He immediately felt more comfortable once the spears had vanished. "Hmm, one minute, thirty seconds. Better than last week's spar. You have been getting exceedingly better but I've been going easy on you. In real life, most people with aura powers wouldn't wait for you to leisurely meander towards them inside that cage of spikes."

"I know that," Ash huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "But I just wanted to show you that the defect can kick an Aura Guardian's ass any day."

"You get that attitude from your father," Riley shook his head as both of their forms deactivated and they returned to their already sweat drenched tracksuits. "Alright then miss Guardian ass kicker, let's head back home and get ready for dinner tonight. Delia is gonna cook up a storm, isn't she?"

"That's mum for you."

~0~o~0~

Once the two had showered and changed into something more formal for the dinner, the two aura users came down to finish helping set everything up with Professor Oak joining them. Not even half an hour later, all four were sat at the table enjoy a well-prepared meal whilst the elderly man was recounting tales from his grandson – Gary Oak – who had already been on his journey for two months.

"He recently caught a Growlithe," Samuel told the three Ketchum's with avid pride for his flesh and blood. "That line is known for being highly loyal if trained right and it helps having a psychical attacking fire type as well as a special like his Charmander."

"Two fire types?" Riley raised an eyebrow, stopping his fork mid-rise to his mouth. "Why catch two fire types?" Before the professor could interject, Delia put her opinion across.

"I have to agree Samuel," she frowned with slight displeasure at his enthusiasm at boasting his grandson's achievements at HER daughter's leaving/birthday dinner. "Trainers of Gary's stature can only have six Pokémon so how would two Pokémon of the same typing cover a wide range of disadvantages? It's taking two spaces instead of one."

"Gary rotates." Professor Oak flushed in embarrassment, but Delia wasn't done.

"Anyway, why are you talking about your grandson when it's my daughter's birthday meal?" She stood up, picking up the empty plates as she did so, leaving the ones that were still being used. "I haven't boasted about Ash during any of Gary's birthdays and my daughter has a mythical power that allows her to defend herself."

"Mum, it's okay." Ash really didn't want her mother to go into a rant right now, it would honestly never end. "I don't mind, just get ready to throw back stories of me kicking his ass in battle, okay?" Delia laughed as she left, much to Professor Oak's chagrin. Riley snorted through his drink, not caring that speckles of it now littered the tablecloth.

"That's my niece!" He pulled her into a headlock and ruffled her hair, much to Ash's annoyance. "Anyway, if it is alright with queen mother out there, may I give my present to the birthday girl?"

"Close family first, you know the rules Riley," Delia returned at that moment with two wrapped shapes in her arms. "Sorry sweetie, but this year I went more practical than money and books but I'm sure you've studied up enough on each of the major types and Pokémon that fall under them." She handed over the presents in the cleaned area of the table. Within seconds the wrapping paper was on the floor and the two gifts were out in the open. One was a set of travelling clothing comprised of knee length jean shorts; under the knee black socks, white tennis trainers, a blue jacket with white sleeves and a golden trim around the hem and at the bands on the pockets, a black t-shirt, dark green fingerless gloves with a lighter green band and a red and white baseball cap with a green triangular shape on the front. The second was a green backpack already full to the brim with everything that was needed for a region wide tour.

"Mum, these are amazing!" The daughter thanked her mother in the form of a warm, loving hug. "Wait, is that the Pokémon League Expo hat?"

"The very same!" Delia grinned, remembering the competition she had entered five years ago. "I won it and kept it for the day you started your own journey."

"I had no idea you were the winner, Delia," Samuel was shocked at the item on top of the other neatly folded items of clothing. "A lot of people entered so it was a wonder you won."

"Not really," she smiled charmingly. "I sent a thousand postcards so I could be sure that I won it."

"A thousand," Riley whistled at the number given to him. "That's pure dedication there. Guess you thought your little cupcake deserved it." Whilst Ash blushed at the nickname, Delia nodded and replied to her brother in law.

"She did, working hard at learning as much as she could about Pokémon whilst also training under you was more than enough reason to do it, my daughter will be a Pokémon Master one day, you know." She couldn't help but roll her eyes at Riley. He had been around them for nine years and he should know that she was training under him and being home schooled at the same time thanks to the long and extensive training of aura users.

"Thanks mum," Delia received another hug before her daughter put on the said hat of discussion, which flattened her outward spikes somewhat. "It fits perfectly."

"Don't worry about your travelling clothes," She winked at Ash as she spoke. "I hand made them myself so they will fit your exact measurements for quite a while and have already pre-packed at least three sets of spares."

"A real fashion designer," Riley rolled his eyes at her, but smiling none the less. "My turn, and hopefully you'll find this a lot better than some backpack and a travel outfit." He ignored Delia's scornful glare that was aimed at the back of his head as he pulled out a red and white spherical orb – a Poké Ball – from his trouser pockets.

"Is that…?" He laughed at his niece's shocked expression as he handed over the device to her.

"Yep, your starter Pokémon," Riley nodded. "As your trainer and Aura Guardian, it is my duty to give you a Pokémon at the end of your training. However, since you aren't an Aura Guardian yourself then a line such as the Riolu line wouldn't make sense so, here's one I think you'll love."

The three adults watched as, with a shaking hand, Ash activated the Poké Ball and released the creature that was inside. It was a small Pokémon whose body was almost entirely hidden under a dusty, sun-bleached yellow rag with pointed black ears. Its beady black eyes were visible through holes in the body of its disguise, and the fringe of an amorphous foot or lower body appeared to be visible under the hem of its rag. The veil itself resembled that of a Pokémon called Pikachu. The Pikachu face appeared to be drawn on with crayons, consisting of black eyes, red cheeks, and a squiggly black mouth. It also had a small stick resembling a lightning bolt to create some sort of tail for its costume.

Delia went to lunge at Riley with Samuel having to hold her back as she cursed the name of Riley Aaron Ketchum very loudly. Out of all of the Pokémon he could have chosen he had to pick one resembling a Pikachu, the one Pokémon Ash was scared to death of. Thanks to a childhood event which ended up in her almost dying from a Thunderbolt that forced her into a hospital for a week, and if there was anything Ash hated more than Pikachu then it was hospitals. She never really liked needles or doctors after her vaccination jabs when she was little. Any sight of the yellow rodent caused her to freeze up, start gasping for breath as she hyperventilated and ultimately faint away onto the floor. Riley knew this and yet still he gave the laughing girl a Pikachu copy that was currently being hugged in her arms… wait, what?

It was true, Ash was hugging her first ever Pokémon, a Mimikyu, with laughter ringing from her lips as the ghost and fairy type snuggled back. Samuel let go of Delia, who was no longer trying to rip Riley's head off. Of course, Riley had a goal in mind to help her get over the fear but it seemed the fear of Pikachu didn't apply to Mimikyu somehow. Whilst still holding her first Pokémon in a loose hug, Ash turned to face her uncle with a beaming grin.

"She's so adorable! How did you catch her?!" Riley noted his apprentice's usage of her aura abilities to determine the aura of her starter, something which could reveal a lot about the owner of the aura as he had told her a few years back.

"Like any person would, using Lucario to fight and catch her during that mission I was forced into whilst at Alola last month." He replied with a soft smile, glad that she was happy with his choice. "This little one was looking for a trainer and I knew you were almost sixteen so the two of you would make the perfect mix, especially with how determined she was to beat Lucario even though I had the upper hand."

"Mimikyu is a heavily offensive Pokémon," Professor Oak decided to impart his knowledge onto the group. "It's ability Disguise allows a free hit without damage which could be used as a free hit or for defensive set up. Plus, ghost and fairy means it is immune to three types of attack and can fight back against most of a ghost type's weaknesses. It's a very rare Pokémon, even in Alola."

"Well, Mimi's my starter and I bet she's going to be awesome, right Mimi?" The newly named Pokémon jumped for joy with her nickname and hugged her trainer once again, wrapping a shadowy claw around her shoulder gently to bring them closer together as friends.

"Not very creative for your first nickname but… OWW!" Mimi watched as her new trainer formed a glowing blue spear above the Lucario man's head and dropped it on him whilst winking at her. She got the drift and fired a Shadow Ball at him for good measure. Within seconds, Riley was on the floor whilst still being sat on his chair with a victorious Mimi sitting on her new trainer's lap.

"Oh, she's going to be more than awesome!" Ash gushed, lifting Mimi up into the air. "She's gonna win me the title of Pokémon Master, no doubt!" The ghost type trilled in agreement, the fabric of her rag turning red where she was seemingly blushing.

"I may not have a Pokémon to give you or handmade clothing," Samuel reached into his lab coat and handed over a book filled with training tips and useful knowledge for beginners whilst not sounding too patronising. It even gave information for raising unusual types and the types of berries that should be kept on hand at all times if Potions were run out of and a Pokémon Center was nowhere nearby. Of course, it was pretty useful and would be read from front to back at least twice during the journey around Kanto. "But I hope this and the promise of a Pokédex and Poké Balls early tomorrow morning will make up for it."

"It's fine professor, and thank you for doing this for me," Ash smiled at all of them, holding Mimi in her arms. "Thank you all."

"No problem, sweetie," Delia answered back for everyone on the table. "And happy birthday."

~0~o~0~

Not too long after – once desert had been served and Ash had fed Mimi some standard Pokémon food with some sneakily hidden desert pieces added in – the professor left for his lab and everyone else retired to their bedrooms for an early wake up start the next day. Mimi was still out of her Poké Ball, cuddling up to her trainer in her bed that night. Struggling to sleep out of pure excitement for what tomorrow would hold, Ash looked over at her first ever Pokémon, who had trapped her arm underneath her weight. Mimi was snoring away, with her eyes being just two bent lines against the rag that covered her true form. Apparently looking at it caused a person to die once, so Ash wasn't going to take any chances around that front. She valued her life thank you very much and she was sure that Mimi valued her life as well, judging from the reaction she got from the part fairy type after picking her up into a hug upon their meeting.

It also helped that – whilst it wasn't commonly known but was still true – Mimikyu as a species always seemed to gain a power boost when fighting a Pikachu, possibly due to the hidden jealously towards the electric type that stole everyone's love in Alola, a Pokémon species that Ash found impossible to even go near so knowing that Mimi could send one flying if she needed too was reassuring enough.

"We're going to be the best, right Mimi?" Ash asked softly, getting a soft trill of her starter's name in response to her question, a response that sounded like a yes in the teenager's ears. A smile formed on her face and stuck there as she drifted off to sleep with her thoughts stuck on what tomorrow would bring as her first day on the path to Pokémon mastery.


	2. Beginnings

**Hi there!**

 **Firstly I would like to thank everyone who faved, alerted or reviewed... or even viewed this story. I didn't think it would get anywhere (since it's a genderbender and I know some people don't like them) but to go far beyond my expectations with just a week of being out (or so) makes me grateful to all of you for trying this story and reading what I have to offer.**

 **For those who reviewed, you answers:**

 **mewmaster98: Who said this universe was going to be cute? Sure, some cute moments will arise but this universe ain't all sunshine and rainbows for our future Mrs Pokemon Master!**

 **Guest 1: Uh... Misty's a girl and I'm not comfortable (with my lack of knowledge in human relationships) to write a yuri Pairing so no, Ash and Misty are just going to be friends/best friends in this story. Thanks for taking the time to review.**

 **mikel97: I may give pairings in the future, or hint at pairings, but I have not planned far enough for the forces of Serena to intervene. Also, just like above, she's a girl, Ash is a girl, I'm not so good with yuri and can only just to hetero and yaoi at a stretch. (Slash if you don't like the y terms) Of course Paul will be a male when he shows up, Ash is the only genderbent character which is why the fem! is used in the summary. I like the idea of Paul and I have started an amourshipping fic, but Amour is not my cup of tea, not after I began seeing Serena as a yandere.**

 **Cutesaralisa: Just you wait until she starts yelling "NGAAAHHH!" and talks about anime and people wielding 10ft swords. ;) Mimi is a badass, which is why I chose her for Ash. Mimikyu is an awesome Pokemon, better than Pikachu, and would be a great starter for a girl who hates the sight of those yellow (or orange when shiny) furred mouse Pokemon. Also, with the pairing... I could see Ash and Wally working but with Wallace? Nah, he's more May's department being a coordinator and all. I'd better start looking for rare Ash pairings then. Shouldn't be too hard, he is the main protag of the anime, afterall.**

 **Guest 2: Aww thank you, hope you enjoy this one.**

 **Before I finish up, just a warning. Any guest who review from now on (don't care who you are or whatever unless you have already given yourself a name) I will give nicknames to. writing Guest with 1 or 2 or 3 next to it whilst answering reviews is a bit boring and, well, I'm not one for boring thank you very much. So, a quick heads up. If you write a guest review with no name, you're getting one of Sapphiria's nickname's free of charge! Aren't I kind?**

 **Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Beginnings**

 _ **Beep.**_

 _ **Beep.**_

 _ **Beep.**_

 _ **CRASH!**_

Mimi jumped up as the electronic device from her trainer's bedside hit the wall opposite which was the east facing wall of the bedroom. With the clattering of metallic parts and pieces against the semi-carpeted floor, a bed headed girl sat up and yawned, stretching her arms and back whilst she did so with Mimi taking the chance to make her way onto her new trainer's lap. It took a moment, but slowly the events of last night crept up on Ash's half-asleep consciousness and she smiled whilst rubbing Mimi's head affectionately. Her very first Pokémon, a friend that would help her achieve her goal and an ally for years to come, in all honesty she really couldn't believe what her uncle had done for her to get – in her opinion – one of the best Pokémon ever as a starter.

"Mornin' Mimi…" The said starter was enjoying her head rub and probably pouted when the comforting hand removed itself, however that was not known due to the cloth covering her body. She watched as her trainer got out of bed and pulled on her new outfit her mother had gifted her the night before, finishing up by pulling her long hair into a ponytail and jamming her baseball hat on her head. "Alright, we need to have breakfast before we leave, trust me when I say I need mum's cooking one more time."

Ash smiled as Mimi jumped down from the bed onto her shoulder, nuzzling against her cheek as they left the room for the last time for a while, rushing down the stairs two at a time to enter the kitchen through the living room. Delia was already up, sitting down with her own breakfast whilst reading the local newspaper that had been posted through the door earlier on. She looked up at the loud ruckus of her daughter tearing up her stairs on the way down, internally brimming with pride at the sight of her special girl and her starter. To be honest, she never thought her daughter – who had an outright fear of the Pokémon Mimikyu resembled – would have bonded with it but, then again, her daughter could throw life-force spears at you if you angered her so she wasn't all that surprised in hindsight.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she greeted the two as Ash took a seat opposite, grabbing a slice of toast for herself whilst picking a berry or two of Mimi. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well," The teen admitted behind a yawn, not noticing her mother's nearly silent chuckle. "I finally managed to destroy that thing after nine years."

"You destroyed your alarm clock?" Delia asked with a look of shock on her face, the electronic device had lasted for ages and had always woke Ash up at the crack of dawn for training with Riley. Time and time again the girl had sworn that she would decimate the clock and laugh at its remains with her sleeping freedom. After nearly a decade, Ash had fulfilled her promise and she looked as if she was a Meowth that had got the cream.

"No Mum, I finally killed Riley," Ash rolled her eyes at her mother's horrified expression. "YES, I DESTROYED MY ALARM CLOCK! Geez, I was joking. I got my dry sense of humour from you, after all." There was silence for a while rising tension. "Mum, it was sarcasm, a wondrous human invention that is best used for…"

"I get it, I get it," Delia sipped her coffee, slightly embarrassed by the truth behind her daughter's words. "In all honesty, I don't blame you with the Riley part."

"See! I'm not the only one who thinks he's bad!" The two females couldn't help but laugh whilst Mimi helped herself to the fruit bowl.

"Anyway," Delia's laughter turned to giggling as Ash noticed Mimi's actions and had to lift her starter out of a nearly empty bowl. "I have to ask if you are ready and fully packed for your Kanto wide trip?"

"Course, my bag's ready by the door and all I need to do later is get a Pokédex from Professor Oak and I'm ready to go." The now officially sixteen-year-old took another piece of toast from the stack in the middle of the dining table. She paused on her way to taking a bite and looked down at the table guiltily. "I'll miss you, just so you know, and I'll always call at every Pokémon Center I go to."

Delia placed a hand on Ash's with a reassuring smile, knowing that the latter was thinking of her father and the lack of contact they gained from him. "I know sweetie, you don't have to tell me. Plus, I'll always be cheering you on from behind the scenes, got it?" Watery tears began to build up in her daughter's eyes which ended in a three-way hug – Mimi included herself whilst trying to make her trainer feel better – over the breakfast table.

"Got it, thanks Mum."

"Oh, and Ash?"

"Yes, Mum?"

"Happy birthday."

The walk to Professor Oak's was a bit more lively than usual, with Mimi excitedly staring around at the town her trainer came from. There wasn't much to see minus a couple of bright coloured roofs of the few houses dotted around the fielded landscape and an establishment or so, such as a café or a restaurant for travelling trainers just passing by. What was most known about in the town was Oak's Lab, one of the few reasons as to why someone outside the citizens of the hamlet would be in the vicinity. It was no wonder children from Pallet were so eager to turn sixteen and get their starter Pokémon. Ash was one of the lucky ones, outside education she had constant aura training with Riley to keep her busy.

Mini turned what seemed to be her body around with the 'head' bobbing around with the slightest movement from either trainer or Pokémon, curious as the two left the fields of Pallet for the secluded pathway up to the laboratory's entrance. Running up two steps at a time, Ash was quickly knocking on the door with excitement. She had Mimi on her shoulder now all she needed was her Pokédex and she was ready to go. The first step in achieving her dream was mere moments away from beginning and she couldn't wait any longer, practically bouncing on the top step as one of the professor's assistant workers ushered her in whilst worrying she would collapse from energy she was draining from being so jumpy. Obviously, they hadn't watched one of her spars with Riley cause if they had, well, they would have known how far she could push her limits.

"Professor!" The sixteen-year-old yelled as she burst into his workspace, causing the old man to almost drop the papers he was holding. "Oh, sorry about that…"

"I should have known," Professor Oak shook his head with a curt smile before placing the important documents down on the worktop beside him. "Good morning, how are you today?"

"Fine, good, excited…" Ash continued blabbering on words to describe her emotional state until she stopped. "Can we just get on with it?" Samuel watched as the girl's starter nodded in agreement, just as excited as her trainer was.

"That we can," he reached into one of his lab coat's pockets and pulled out a red device that seemed to flip open like a book. Inside was a set of buttons with the letters of the alphabet on them with a screen above it. "This is Dexter, the device made to record every single Pokémon sighting you have whilst on your journey. Due to a wider range of Pokémon migrating here from other regions, the National Dex has been programmed on, check out your Mimikyu to see if it works." Doing as she was told, it turned out that Mimi was rather impressive and already had a few good moves under her belt like Shadow Ball, Double Team and Pain Split. Plans surrounding the moves she saw on the screen formulated immediately.

"You're pretty awesome according to this thing, Mimi," Ash rubbed her starter's head, who happily leaned into the touch. "But I knew that anyway."

"And here's your standard five Poké Balls to start you off," the professor handed the same red and white spheres over that matched the one Riley had given her the night before. "If you need anymore, potions and repels included, you can buy them from a Poké Mart, they are normally set up quite close to a Pokémon Center so they shouldn't be too hard to find. Just ask if you need too."

"Thanks professor."

"Good luck out there," he gave her a rare smile that was usually reserved for his grandson. "I know you'll do the town proud."

~0~o~0~

 **Route 1:**

"Alright then, first thing first… we need a teammate." Mimi tipped her head up in confusion at her trainer's words. "I mean another Pokémon to join us on our journey! If I want to be a Master, I've gotta be able to work with all kinds of types, not just your two Mimi. That's why I was thinking a Pidgey would be a good choice. Normal types are immune to ghost type moves, and flying types are immune to ground types. Sure, they aren't so good to rock, ice or electric types, but I read somewhere that Pidgeot can learn Heatwave and they are very fast Pokémon." That caused a frown, which Mimi didn't like the look of on her first friend's face. "But hey, you aren't weak to rock types so I'll just have to catch another Pokémon to join you on the field for the Pewter Gym match."

Ash couldn't help but laugh at Mimi's enthusiasm to get right into fighting, if her Shadow Ball yesterday had been anything to show her power, then the girl knew her starter was destined to be one of the best. Pulling Dexter from her jacket pocket, she began checking out what other moves would be vital to teach and, almost immediately, Copycat and Mimic sprang to mind. Rock types were weak to ground type moves and, it just so happened that the Pokémon used by the Gym Leader were rock and ground in their typing. Using Mimic on one of their ground type moves would be greatly helpful in defeating the Gym, especially since rock was ironically weak to ground.

Mimi was eager to begin training, but Ash wanted to make sure she had caught her first team member first before anything happened, actually vowing to catch the first thing she stumbled across. According to Dexter, only Pidgey, Spearow and Rattata could be caught in Route 1 – fishing rods not included – with Caterpie and Weedle showing up in Viridian Forest alongside the worst rodent to ever exist in the history of Pokémon, in her honest and unbiased opinion. Internally she was hoping that a Pidgey would fly into her path or just be on a branch on a tree nearby. To make things easier, she closed her eyes and used the Aura Sight ability to search around for other signatures that could be her potential first caught Pokémon. There was a singular Spearow to the left, a horde of Rattata to the right and…

She screamed as a sudden aura swooped out of nowhere and made her fall onto her butt, with Mimi jumping in front of her trainer protectively. Nobody would hurt Mimi's first ever friend, the first person who saw her as a cute Pokémon and not as a rip off copy. Whilst Mimi was acting as scary as hell, her trainer blinked back into normal vision to see exactly what she was hoping for. A Pidgey had offered itself for a battle.

It was widely known thanks to psychics who could understand Pokémon – and some mind reading aura users – that Pokémon loved to battle and would even fight other wild Pokémon to prove their strength just in case a trainer came along to catch them. Being a trainer's Pokémon was seen as a privilege amongst the many creatures that lived in the land around the many human settlements around the regions, so one would automatically challenge a trainer if they believed they could be in with a chance to be captured. Trained Pokémon had better lifestyles than those in the wild; they were well fed, stronger and taken care for – even pampered depending on the kind of trainer theirs was. The Pidgey watched as a grin formed on the human's face, it was obvious that the trainer had wanted to capture one of her kind and she was glad this was her chance to prove herself, no more last place to her brothers and sisters – one of whom was already a Pidgeotto and was full of himself already.

"Ready to go Mimi?" The Mimikyu nodded back at her, an evil glint sparkled from those beady eyes that almost scared the attacking Pidgey into flying away. Consulting Dexter once again revealed that there were only two moves that would do any damage right now – with ghost type moves doing nothing to normal types and vice versa – and a plan instantly formed within her mind. "Alright, Double Team!"

Mimi instantly obeyed and multiple copies of herself surrounded the poor flying type, who was now shaking steadily. The Pidgey had observed that this 'Mimi' was highly protective of their trainer, having changed stance from glee to fury in a matter of seconds. All of those creepy faces and… those words? They echoed, rattled around the wild Pokémon;

" _I curse you…"_

" _Mimi see you…"_

" _Don't you DARE hurt MY trainer…"_

" _You will die…"_

Ash noticed this, staring in confusion at what was happening. Unlike the Pidgey, she couldn't hear what Mimi was saying but it must not have been good. It was highly uncalled for; the flying type had only startled her for Arceus' sake. It only wanted to battle so it may be caught, it didn't need a one-way trip to the psychiatrist for Pokémon. "Scratch," When Mimi didn't respond, she yelled sternly at her starter. "NOW!"

Pulling herself out of her rage, Mimi followed the instruction and multiple Mimikyu pounced on the poor Pidgey, each copy scratching the bird once. Of course, it tried to fight back with a Tackle or a Peck when it could but the multiple attacks had worn it out heavily. Seeing that as her chance, Ash pulled a Poké Ball from her left shorts pocket and threw it at the Pidgey, which hit the creature in the centre of the head and sucked it in with a red glow of energy. The ball shook once, then twice, three times and finally dinged which signalled a successful capture. Before she went to pick up the new capture, Ash turned to face Mimi with a harsh expression on her face.

"Okay, what was that about? What did you do?" Mimi lowered her head in shame, realising she had let her emotions take her over. Now she finally had a trainer, the Mimikyu had thought her more… psychotic tendencies from years of neglect would have faded away, especially with how Ash treated her when they first met. Mimi had instantly become attached to the sixteen-year-old girl who had called her both amazing and adorable, promising her the role as the main Pokémon on her path to Pokémon Mastery. It never occurred to the ghost type that a flying type would attempt to gain attention in such a manor, living inside an abandoned supermarket meant she had never really seen a flying type – unless one counted the levitating ghost types to be 'flying'. Expecting to be rejected and released, she froze when a hand began rubbing her head gently in an attempt to calm her down. "Look, I have no idea of what your life was like before we met but, if my books told me anything then it was that you guys don't have it easy when it comes to people loving you. I know you care about me but it's normal for a wild Pokémon to appear out of nowhere to challenge a trainer to battle, okay?"

Mimi pushed the head of her costume into her trainer's touch, nearly purring at the feeling of warmth. The rag was a second skin to her, meaning she could feel anything that touched it, same went for her tail. Well, she was a ghost and fairy type, they weren't a good mix when it came to supernatural curses and the like. Their little moment lasted for a few more seconds, then Ash went to pick up her new partner. She sighed softly as she took her backpack off and pulled out one potion from the collection her mother had bulk brought her, just in case something bad happened on the way to Viridian City. Pressing the white button released the little flying type back into the world, who immediately tried to hide from Mimi but got nowhere thanks to injuries.

"Hold on, I have a potion for you," Ash sprayed the medicine on the wounds the Pidgey had sustained, making sure she had sprayed every cut or bruise before she put the half-emptied bottle away. "Hi there, welcome to the team. Mimi has something to say to you, don't you Mimi?" The Mimikyu nodded and sauntered over to her new comrade as the trainer scanned her first catch. The Pidgey was female, like Mimi, and had Keen Eye as an ability which was an ability that stopped defence lowering effects from moves. It also turned out her parent new Air Slash and Brave Bird as they were egg moves she hadn't learnt yet. Meanwhile, Mimi was trying to explain she didn't mean what she had said in her mass mob of copies and was sorry for scaring her new teammate in such a manor. The Pidgey took the apology, apologising for startling their trainer. If it wasn't for the fact Mimi's ghost type moves wouldn't do anything to her, the flying type wouldn't be as easy to talk around into alliance. "I'm glad you are getting along with Mimi so well, Farina."

The Pidgey tilted her head at the nickname, which caused her new trainer to gasp and begin to shake her hands nervously.

"I mean, you don't have to take the name if you don't want to, it was just an idea. Farina was the name of a flying type Master a couple of years back and I thought, since your line are amazing fliers that you wouldn't mind a suitable name and…" Ash's mini scrabble for words was interrupted as a head, one smaller than Mimi's, nudged against her cheek happily, showing that the nickname had stuck. "Great! Welcome aboard, Farina! The three of us are going to work hard to become Masters together, right?" Both Farina and Mimi cheered with their trainer's words, agreeing completely. "Okay, training time! I have some huge plans for the two of you!"

~0~o~0~

Those plans involved learning some useful moves and tactics for the future, including speed and reaction time. Both Farina and Mimi were shocked when Ash summoned a wall of blue, glowing spears behind her which both of them had to completely dodge to pass the exercise. Quickly they realised that the onslaught wasn't going to stop and tried their hardest not to get hit, even if the spears weren't at full power and only hurt a little bit. It was easier for Farina, who could fly and was used to dodging attacks closer to her from the Spearow flock that would attack any Pidgey that happened to be anywhere near them, so it didn't take her too long to predict the weapons and dodge them whilst showing off to her new trainer. Mimi found it harder, but her ability Disguise was more of a help whilst this was going on. Considering these spears weren't Pokémon moves, she wasn't taking any damage as her rag wasn't being hit properly. An hour of spears later and the two were dodging like pros, even with the speed of the spears having increased by a hundred percent over time. At times, they even deflected attacks back with their own moves.

With the speed training done, it was down to moves. It turned out Mimi had an egg move of Wood Hammer, which would be extremely useful in the Gym, and that was added to her list of moves to learn. Mimic was already working out perfectly with Mimi having used Peck, Tackle and Sand Attack consecutively with Farina's help. Copycat, not so much and Wood Hammer was going nowhere fast. None of Mimi's moves worked to match it so it would just have to wait until the passage through Viridian Forest. Farina wasn't doing better or worse than Mimi was, having gained a decent grasp on Air Slash and Quick Attack. Air Slash was just a highly concentrated gust that could cause a flinch and Quick Attack was a faster Tackle. Brave Bird, was an issue so, for now, it would be left until Farina had evolved into a Pidgeotto.

The training had been cut short out of a sense of urgency due to a warning about a storm that was rolling in from the north, which meant that getting to Viridian was urgent. A quick lunch later – with Farina safely in her Poké Ball afterwards – and the group were off. Due to her training, Ash could run long distances without getting out of breath due to a high stamina. Mimi clutched onto her trainer's shoulder as clouds rumbled in overhead. It didn't look good at all, so getting to the city was a huge priority. Ash had taken a shortcut, managing to bypass a huge area and had come out on a straight path near a river. Due to her determination to get to Viridian on time so she wouldn't end up with a cold or anything, she wasn't pay attention to anything around her.

"Move out of the way!" A voice called out before she was sent flying into the air, landing on her front as some kid on a bike disappeared further on head yelling something about repaying someone. Just as Mimi was about to send a Shadow Ball his way, and Ash a spear to burst the tire, an orange haired female rushed up to them.

"Are you okay?" She asked, sighing in relief when she realised that the two weren't hurt. "I just saved that kid's life by fishing him out from the lake and he repays me by taking my bike? I thought the sixteen-year-old age restriction was to make kids smarter, not dumber."

"Mimi, are you alright?!" The girl watched as Ash looked over her starter first, not realising she had cut her arm on a stone on the path. When Mimi had nodded, she had smiled. "I'm so glad." Ash turned her head back to look at the girl sheepishly. "Sorry, I was worried about Mimi so I didn't hear what you said. Can you please repeat yourself for me?"

"Sure thing. I said I just saved that kid's life by fishing him out from the lake and he repays me by taking my bike? I thought the sixteen-year-old age restriction was to make kids smarter, not dumber. The name's Misty by the way," Misty held out her hand to help the younger trainer up, only to frown when her eyes latched onto the cut. "You're hurt."

"Tis but a scratch!" Ash chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head with her non-injured arm.

"That's what Mercutio said but he died shortly afterwards from his 'scratch'," The orange haired girl rolled her eyes but smiled at the fact the other girl was at least Shakespeare literate meaning she had to have passed the fourteen-year-old tests which included literature as a part of the syllabus. This year, apparently, Romeo and Juliet had been a part of the English tests of the Sixteen Plus, the last exams a kid took before they could be a trainer. "Come on, let me patch you up first." Misty skilfully cleaned the wound, trying to be gentle whenever the other trainer would hiss slightly, and bandaged it up. "It wasn't too deep but I'd have it checked out if I were you when you get to Viridian.

"Thank you ever so much… oh!" Ash cursed herself under her breath and extended her left hand out for a hand shake. "I'm Ash. So, you said you fished that boy out from the river?"

"Yeah, he was carrying a battered Pikachu in his arms," Misty raised an eyebrow at the shiver that went down her acquaintance's body at the Pokémon's name but she pushed it aside. "He had no idea what to do, so I told him to take it to the Pokémon Center in Viridian which is only ten minutes away from here. The Pikachu wasn't in that bad of a state that STEALING MY BIKE WAS NECESSARY!" She suddenly blew up, rage dripping off of her words. That bike meant a lot to Misty, it seemed. Ash and Mimi could only blink as Misty went on a mini rant about the boy and how his parents should have taught him about right and wrong, along with how potions are a necessity.

"Uhmm… excuse me?" The angry redhead growled at Ash for being interrupted, but Ash didn't crack under the glare. She'd received worse under Riley's tutelage. "But shouldn't you just head to Viridian after the boy and, oh, I dunno, GET YOUR BIKE BACK?!" Misty stared at her for a moment before smiling.

"You're alright for a newbie."

"Uh, thanks," Ash couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Sorry to break it to you luv, but standing around talking isn't going to get that two-wheel drive of yours back in your possession so shouldn't you head on and get it?"

"Aren't you heading to Viridian too?" Misty inquired.

"Yeah, it's about to rain and I don't want to catch a cold on my birthday so…" She yelped when Misty grabbed her arm and began running in the direction the bike thief cycled off to. "Okay, I'm coming along, got it…"

"THAT LITTLE BRAT!" Misty's cries of fury would have easily reached the heavens if it could have, her right eye twitching under the circumstances. On the ground in front of them, charred and grilled beyond belief was Misty's bike. The frame had warped and the tires were melted in places. There was only one reason this would be the case, that lightning bolt from earlier just happened to hit her poor bike, caused by a Pikachu, the boy's Pikachu probably. And people said Ash had no reason to fear the critters, she always knew they were more destructive than others gave them credit for.

The clouds had cleared up but the path was soggy with rain clogged mud, showing that the threat of icy cold water didn't affect neither her nor Misty. Whilst the girl ranted about what she was going to do with the boy when she got her hands on him, Ash took a look at the surroundings with trees ripped from their roots, land scorched and burned from high degree heats with some Spearow unconscious on the floor. According to the patterns, there were more than the ones still there but waking them up seemed as if it wasn't a good idea.

Looking up to the sky, she noted that an evening hue was blending in with the normal blue colour of the day. A few white clouds littered the sky, none of them as threatening as the grey ones from earlier which meant the storm had passed and vanished here from some reason. Pikachu had their uses sometimes, when they weren't almost destroying six year olds' mental structure and nervous system. In remembrance, her arms began to burn up causing Ash to hold them as if they were actually in pain. There was nothing wrong with them but the memory of the electrical surge flowing through her body…

Mimi made a noise that gained her attention, causing her to crouch down to her starter's level. "What's up, Mimi?" The ghost type looked up at the sky, turning her wooden 'tail' so she could point at the golden figure flying through the sky above them, a rainbow trailing after them. "No way… Ho-Oh!" As if it heard its name, Ho-Oh looked down at them and trilled proudly before cawing and flying off north towards Viridian. "Thanks, Ho-Oh. OY, MISTY! COME ON, WE'VE GOT A KID TO CATCH!"

By now, Misty was at the end of her rant and looked up as Ash walked over and lifted the destroyed bike so it was hanging from her uninjured shoulder like a handbag. The Pallet native couldn't help but chuckle at the dropped jaw Misty was supporting on her face.

"Uh… what?" Was all the redhead managed to say at the spectacle.

"We have a kid to catch," Ash repeated herself, noting how ironic this was as she was in the opposite role not too long ago. "Even if his Pokémon was injured, he had no right to take your bike just to speed a few extra minutes off of his time to get to Viridian, even though it increased danger for himself and his Pokémon. Plus, this bike is beyond repair so he has to pay you for a new one. He'll probably be at the Pokémon Center for a while if this area is anything to go by so we'll get what you deserve back, no doubt!"

"Thanks a lot, Ash," Misty smiled at her… friend? Did she have the right to call Ash her friend even after what the two had been through together in a short space of time. "You don't have to."

"That guy ran me over! I have a scratch in my right arm!" Melodramatic sarcasm made it into full play, making Misty laugh at her actions. "Oh, woe is me! My poor arm over the death of such a faithful companion, hung, drawn and quartered should that young man be!"

"Rhyming couplet, seriously?" The eighteen year old couldn't help but raise her eyebrow whilst laughing.

"All crucial information is left in rhyming couplets in Shakespeare," Ash's nose crinkled as she tried to remember the other reason as to why the Oceanic writer used them. "Oh, and the end of a scene. Stupid if you ask me but seeing Mercutio in drag during the Baz Luhrmann interpretation was soooo worth it."

Misty was in fits of laughter by now, wiping the tears of happiness from the corners of her eyes.

"Alright then, we'd better get a move on to catch him." With that, the two girls and Mimi continued on their way to Viridian City, generally talking and getting to know each other on a more personal level. They were both untied by a common goal, and that was getting to this kid before he got away with a criminal charge of theft and destruction of private property. If the kid wasn't careful, dangerous driving would be added to that list, and the gash on Ash's arm was evidence behind it. Sure, he could have just not thought about the situation and panicked but was it wrong for a little imagination to brighten up any event.


	3. Creation

**Sorry this one is so short but with what happens inside, I hope you guys will enjoy it.**

 **Just gonna skip ahead to the review section, if that's okay:**

 **I-Dunno-What-An-AU-Is: Yeah, Ash is normally a boy but this is a genderbending AU where he becomes a she. It happens a lot on the Harry Potter section, trust me. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you liked it!**

 **Cutesaralisa: You'll see who he was in the chapter and yes, he will end up in A &E if he's not careful *coughMISTYcough*. Hmm, that could happen. Have you seen a human wield a ten ft spear before? **

**Johnathen: Thanks but no male Dawn, she's a girl in this one. Like I said, no common Ash shippings so if I do pair her off with someone, it won't be a mainstream ship. Oh and Brock's reaction? You'll have to wait and see ;). As for the Ash and Giovanni connection, there is none. They aren't related and, like I said in the last two chapters or so, Ash's father is called Dylan and is an Aura Guardian, not the leader of a crime organisation.**

 **Yandere Dev! Yandere Dev!: Thanks! I think she's totally yandere, in my opinion. (It was boring as hell and I dropped it after only two chapters which contained no actual shipping but hints of it. I just can't write it, no matter what I do.) What is your OTP by the way? I could bend the one character gender rule change slightly as long as the other character isn't often paired with Ash.**

 **CeresNamikaze: There are a lot of fem!Ash fics with yuri pairings? Never knew but I can't write it so I don't. Mimikyu is awesome, I've always wanted Ash to have one since I saw it but Team Rocket had it instead. NOT ANYMORE THEY DON'T! The kid with the Pikachu is revealed this chapter and I love Pikachu too (In another fanfic of mine I gave him a foul mouth, it was so hilarious!). Hmm... all your suggestions are awesome - plus I just love N full stop - and I will take them into consideration. Later on in the series, I will make a poll asking which shipping people want (If I do it.) Plus, those ideas may be used in the Hoenn story but I have planned out the Kanto region captures, with all of them being Kanto Dex origin.**

 **Can't Believe it's not Butterfree: Well, you'll see in this chapter.**

 **So, what did you guys think of the nicknames for the guests? Some were satricial whilst others were jokey. Anyway, if it gets annoying just say and I'll stop but I had fun making them up. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Creation**

"Hold on!"

Those two words should have been enough to make Ash dodge out of the way of the incoming exhaust fumes from the local policewoman's motorbike but, with a manual bike on one of her shoulders and not enough time to warn Misty, the two girls still ended up coughing as their sight was blinded by black gas and lungs filled with the fumes of petrol. When the obstruction had cleared, the two were left alone on the road into Viridian City. Once again, Misty began cursing the kid's existence whilst Ash just watched with a raised eyebrow with Mimi copying her by her side. So, it seemed true what rumours said about redheads, they were all ticking time bombs of anger management issues.

Or Misty was, at the very least.

Managing to knock her out of her rage, the sixteen-year-old pointed just down the path to where the Pokémon Center was and their ultimate destination. Even if some bike stealing brat was using the police to get there faster than they were, they would still be able to talk to him – either civilly or not if Misty had anything to say about it. The two continued their walking, psychically tired after chasing down the thief – who may or may not have had a good reason for doing so – meaning that they would be collapsing if they didn't get to the healing centre promptly. Misty, realising the strain her charred bike was to her new companion, took it back and carried it herself for the rest of the way, happy when a well earnt smile of gratitude was thrown in her direction.

The walk was made in silence until they walked through the Pokémon Center's doors, and then all hell broke loose. Misty went to confront the boy who took her bike – who was conveniently standing behind the counter where a cheerful Nurse Joy would great weary travellers – leaving Ash and Mimi to try and find someone who worked there to look at her arm. The trainer from Pallet cursed her lack of healing aura, used to Riley healing them both up after serious bouts of training but Riley wasn't here now and she was a defect with a gash in her arm that was now stinging like crazy. Luckily, her prayers were answered soon in the form of earlier said Nurse Joy, followed by a Chancey pushing a trolley with a… a…

Oh hell no.

Everyone froze as a loud scream vibrated through the building and Misty soon realised that as shaking form was looking over her shoulder at the Pikachu who was sitting calmly on its stretcher. The boy, some auburn-haired kid who had gone crazy with green and yellow in his jacket and trousers, tipped his head in confusion at her reaction whilst Misty rolled her eyes.

"Ash, it's just a Pikachu." She tried to calm the other girl down, but to no avail.

"Just a Pikachu, JUST a PIKACHU?!" Ash was near hyperventilation as she spoke, raising her voice so that everyone would listen to her. "Those things are natural born killers! They will backstab you when you least expect it, DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THEIR CUTENESS!" With a yelp from the creature looking at her, Ash returned to her safe spot behind the strong, tough Misty… not that she couldn't throw a spear of her own at the electric type.

"What's her problem?" The boy asked, bringing the Pikachu-phobic sixteen-year-old out of hiding.

"What is MY problem?" Ash wanted to wring this boy's neck now, she really did. "There are people out there with Pokémon phobias for a reason! One of that… thing almost killed me when I was little! I did nothing and it shocked the hell out of me, I was almost paralysed!" Misty gasped whilst the boy seemed indifferent to her explanation towards the outburst.

"So?"

"SO?!" Misty had to physically hold Ash back from taking it out on the kid, who seemed to have the mental age of a child. Nurse Joy was about to say something when her eyes latched onto the bandage around the restrained girl's arm which was now soaked with blood.

"What happened to your arm?" She asked, glad that the scuffle had calmed down with her interference.

"She cut it when he," Misty pointed to the boy. "took off on my bike and almost ran her over. The gash isn't too deep but it'll need stiches. I did the best I could with what resources I had on me."

"Alright, I'll deal with the injury but there will be no more arguments from now on," Nurse Joy turned her commanding glare from Misty to the boy seamlessly. "Misty, you don't need to yell and Ritchie, Sparky will be fine with overnight rest so don't use him as an excuse." She turned her gaze to the girl who was still in hiding from the confused Pikachu, and asked for identification which was handed over in the form of a Pokédex. "Ash, right? Come with me please." Mimi followed her trainer into the consultant rooms, snarling at the Pikachu as if to dare him to come even a step closer until she vanished from sight behind the door… only to peak her head around one more time to snarl loudly.

For Misty, this revelation made her sympathise with Ash on a more personal level. As a person who had a bug type phobia, she could understand the feelings behind Ash's fear of Pikachu since it was the result of a psychical and emotional trauma that could have ended badly for her. She turned her gaze over to the boy, who was hugging his poor Pokémon within an inch of its life. Ritchie, she believed his name was, must have had a more secluded lifestyle growing up. He had an air of ignorance caused by a wealthy, mansion born life that wouldn't have prepared him for what was going to happen out in the world. If he wanted to get anywhere, he would need to learn that the world wasn't the save haven he was used to and he'd need to pull his head out of the sand concerning the wellbeing of other trainers. Just because he didn't fear a type or species of Pokémon doesn't mean others don't.

They stood silent for a few moments until Ritchie spoke up. "A bit of a wacko, wasn't she?"

"No more than you are," Misty sent a glare over at him but kept her voice down as not to start a row. "She had a horrible, traumatic experience with the species of Pokémon in your arms now and yet you have the gall to say she's the crazy one at reacting to a clear sign of danger. Sure, she may have handled it better if she knew that your Pokémon was a Pikachu but it would make no difference. Oh, and the argument that not all members of the same evolution stage are like each other doesn't work for traumatised victims of attempted murder from electric types so I'd shut your mouth if I were you." That seemed to work as whatever Ritchie had on his lips faded away into the air, which led to him pulling out a wad of cash from his pocket.

"You were complaining about your bike and here, for all the trouble I've caused I'll pay for a new one." His arm was left hanging as Misty scoffed at him harshly.

"I don't need your charity," she noticed that the light from the room had gone out, meaning Nurse Joy would be out soon enough. "It was the principle of you stealing my bike and wrecking it over any want of repair or replacement. If I want to get a new bike, then I will do it myself. I don't want your stinking money, got that?" The dangerous edge to her last words struck fear into the sixteen-year-old boy, who nodded obediently almost instantly after she had spoken. "Good, now if you are staying here tonight I'd suggest staying away from the both of us if you want to keep that brain of yours in your skull."

~0~o~0~

Unbeknownst to the people inside, another group was standing outside of the Pokémon Center's doors, pondering whether or not to enter.

One was a short – toddler sized short – man with curly afro hair, a baggy t-shirt and shorts stared up at his two companions behind a pair of sunglasses. The companions consisted of a periwinkle haired male, whose hair was tied into a ponytail, and a woman with her magenta coloured hair styled up into a bun. Both wore sunglasses as well but their clothing was more conspicuous with early 20's adults of the area, classy but with a slightly laidback tone to their outfits. The woman adjusted her sunhat when she noticed that her incredibly shorter companion was staring up at her.

"Yes, Meowth?" She asked at his constant, creepy eye contact.

"I was thinkin'," The man named Meowth replied with a look of thoughtfulness on his face. "Should we attack da Pokémon Center or not? Our job is to obtain and capture rare and powerful Pokémon."

"In there?" The woman scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "We'd get nothing but Pidgey and Ratatta. Weak and injured Pokémon are not the same as strong and powerful, they are mirror opposites of what the boss expects us to be setting out sights on."

"She's right, you know," The taller man confirmed the woman's suspicions. "The League season only started two months ago meaning only beginners would be here right now. The stronger ones don't show up until the final eleventh and twelfth months of the season before the League Tournament. All we'd get now would be Route 1 captures and starter Pokémon. Plus, jumping in through the window and causing a scene was always Cassidy and Butch's department."

"You're right dere!" Meowth nodded, only to frown a tip his head to the side in a manner showing his confusion. "Uh, why?"

"They were always the flashier ones, destroying more than they had to…" The woman rambled on for a while but had to shake herself out of it to continue on with the main answer to his question. "I've made my point but they're the losers of the organisation. It's a wonder that the boss is still employing them, especially when they cost so much."

"I don't know why he keeps them either but we're heading off task now," The other man reminded his fellow team members, trying to keep the others on the topic they were supposed to be arguing about other than the idiotic duo that flashed off the organisation that was supposed to be secretive. To be honest, because of Cassidy and Butch, the rest of the grunts and agents weren't all that worried about revealing their Rocket status to trainers anymore. Nobody knew about Team Rocket before those two and those were the good times. "So, are we going to ambush the place tonight or not?"

The decision was unanimous. "No, not worth our effort or funds. It would be much easier, if we were going to steal a bunch of baby Pokémon, to attack newbies in the forest on their way to Pewter City." The males nodded at their female companion's voice of reason, noting that a random attack in the middle of nowhere, paired with multiple disguises, would be a better way of gaining some rare gems with the rest heading off to the newbie grunts to train up. It was becoming more common for new trainers to be gifted Pokémon from family members compared to gaining a starter from Professor Oak, and these gifted starters were more likely to be rarer species, even more rare than the starters themselves.

"With ya dere, Jess," Meowth looked up at the other man with curiosity due to the fact he had pulled out a device from a pocket in his outfit. "Whatcha upta there Jimmy-boy?"

"Informing the boss of our plans," Jimmy replied with a devious smirk on his lips. "We wouldn't want him out of the loop now, would we?"

"Of course not!" Jess interjected loudly, turning all of the attention onto herself. "Just get on with it and then we can go and set ourselves up in Viridian Forest for the next idiot to fall into our trap."

"Right!" With that three humans, or at least it seemed so with the one known as Meowth – who also shared his name with a Pokémon of the same height – being an absolute midget. Turning away from the Pokémon Center, they walked towards the edge of the city before the trio vanished away into the wilderness, only leaving behind three sets of clothing and an afro wig.

~0~o~0~

Misty flopped onto her bed with a sigh of relief, tiredness setting in after the long day she had just been forced through. At first, everything had been great as she fished for a new water type team member with nice weather and perfect conditions to boot. Everything was swell until she fished that rich toff out of the river, who didn't even thank her for parting her general knowledge that could help him keep his Pokémon alive. To make things worse, he stole her bike and almost ran over another trainer with it. Sure, that trainer had turned out okay but to ruin everything for her, the brat ruined her bike with an electric shock. She was glad Ritchie went off to stay somewhere else for the night or she might have just lashed out at him.

Of course, she had been worried about that other trainer and her wound as well as thinking about seeking vengeance on the boy and his bundle of fur that had creeped the newbie to Silent Hill thanks to her fear of the species. That was something Misty could relate to. As long as she could remember, she had a fear of creepy bug types and would scream and run away if any came near her. She had no idea when or where it had started, or why either. Her medical records never screamed 'attacked by a bug type with an allergic reaction to one', neither did her past as far back as her earlier years. No one knew so they never told her why she was afraid, especially her sisters, but it confused her when all she wanted to do when around a bug type was hide and scream for someone to come and save her.

The door opening brought her from her thoughts as she watched the other girl enter, her Mimikyu attached firmly to her shoulders with no sign of letting go. Misty chuckled at the deerling in headlights expression her new acquaintance was sporting and decided to speak up. "I asked Nurse Joy if we could share rooms. It's a lot cheaper than hiring two out and it allows me to keep an eye on that arm of yours."

"Okay, thanks a lot," Ash stilled in her moving for a moment, leaving the two in silence before the younger began a conversation. "So, what were you doing out there? I mean…"

"I know what you mean," Misty chuckled, placing her head on top of her hands which lay between her skull and the pillows of the Pokémon Center bed. "Can't a girl fish when she wants to nowadays? Joke, but in all seriousness, I was trying to catch a water Pokémon when I brought that guy out."

"Nurse Joy said his name was Ritchie or something," The raven-haired-girl pondered something as she too stared up at the room's ceiling. "I guess he's just a newbie like I am."

"You're doing WAY better than he is, trust me." Misty grinned with reassurance aimed at the girl in the bed opposite hers. "He didn't even have another Pokémon on him and you have two by the looks of it. Plus, you didn't anger a Spearow flock within an hour of starting on your journey, did you?"

"No, I didn't…" Ash's words trailed off as she thought about her mother and Riley's teachings. If she had never been given them then would she have just ended up like Ritchie or worse? "I'd already caught a Pokémon and started training her by that point with strengths and weaknesses in mind but, I was given a proper education on this kinda stuff."

"Ash, he was offering to pay me back for my bike," The redhead snorted with weak laughter. "Without a bike voucher, in Cerulean, proper riding bikes cost a million PokéYen. He's more than well off to have had a proper education growing up. I bet his mummy and daddy-kins paid for the best teachers and he did not listen to them one bit."

"A million is huge!" Ash shot up from where she lay, starting over at Misty in disbelief. "I swear that would have been enough to get my uncle out of his work forever."

"To us commoners, a million is a lot but top-ranking battlers get half that in a day if they wanted too from fights and sponsorship." A contented sigh came from the Cerulean native as she relaxed back into the bed. "Maybe that might be you one day and you could pay me back for my bike."

"Good luck with that sunshine," Ash scoffed slightly, rolling her eyes as she brought Mimi into a hug. "I ain't paying for nobody's bike unless I actually destroyed it with my own two hands." Internally, she was actually imagining her spears of aura ripping it to shreds but Misty didn't need to know about that. She wasn't an Aura Guardian so she didn't need to use her powers in front of the general public, something she was sticking to thanks to the whole defect status.

"Wouldn't that be hard? It is made out of metal after all, and normally human hands can't rip metal apart like two sides of a sheet of paper."

"Good night Misty!" The redhead chuckled at the exasperated tone from the other side of the room.

"Night Ash." And once her eyes were closed, Misty drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

~0~o~0~

"BUGS!" Not so peaceful anymore now, was it?

The next morning, Nurse Joy checked over the injury Ash had sustained and told her to keep it covered to lower the risk of infection until the few stiches implemented had dissolved away. Being the kind soul she was, Misty offered to continue to travel with her until she was not needed any more or until Ash was okay to head out on her own if she so wished. Her offer was met with an enthusiastic response of agreement and the two girls had set off out of Viridian City after stopping by the Poké Mart to top up on supplies.

Misty knew there was a reason she had cycled around Viridian Forest and it was coming back to bite her on the butt whilst mockingly laughing at her in the face. Viridian Forest was full of bug types, the worst Pokémon type of them all. At the current moment in time, she was clinging to a tree trunk to get away from a Caterpie that had gone a bit too close into Misty territory.

"Farina, Air Slash!" The caw of a Pidgey, followed by the cries of a defeated Caterpie told Misty it was safe to come down, with both the Pidgey and the Mimikyu prodding at the unconscious bug.

"Thanks a lot." Misty gasped for breath after that close encounter, only to be given a reassuring smile by the younger trainer.

"No problem," Ash replied. "You would have done the same thing for me if there was a Pikachu around." She noticed Misty's edge over the out cold Caterpie. "I'm not going to catch it, if that's what you're thinking. I don't think the Caterpie line is all that good for close combat battling."

"Oh thank Arceus!" The redhead praised the divine being that created the universe without actually caring about what it had done other than the fact it was a God. "I could not have survived living around that thing for who knows how long."

Ash only responded with a curt nod, looking around the forest for the next member of her team. Whilst she had told Misty she wasn't going to catch a Caterpie, that didn't mean she wasn't looking for a bug type. There was one easy to find bug Pokémon in the forest whose evolution was perfect for her team and all that was standing in her way of catching it was actually finding the thing. Whilst Misty was praising Farina for her skill in slaying the mini bug, she began searching the area with her aura which didn't take too long before a positive result came up, just in the bushes not too far from where they were standing. Now she needed to act her way through this.

Pulling out a Poké Ball, Ash thought the best way about it until deciding to throw the ball before screaming as if something had brushed against her legs on its way through the overgrowth. Of course, Misty assumed a bug type was nearby until the distinguishable ding of a captured Pokémon echoed towards them. "What was that? Did you catch something?!"

"I was holding a Poké Ball whilst looking for a new teammate when something rubbed against my legs and I must have thrown it out of reaction," Ash argued back, trying to put on the whole newbie act which, surprisingly, worked. "I guess I'd better see what I caught." She went towards the bushes and pulled the Poké Ball, throwing it up into the air to reveal the orange creature inside. Misty immediately went ballistic at the sight of such a thing whilst Ash happily pulled out Dexter on her new Weedle. Since Weedle couldn't learn egg moves, she focused on other key points such as ability and gender, learning her Weedle was her first male Pokémon in the team.

"Look, since I bet you're not willing to trade that thing away or release it," Misty shivered at the sight of the bug type who was even worse than a Caterpie in her opinion. "You can keep it but don't let it anywhere near me whilst we're travelling, got that clear?"

"Clear as crystal," As Misty sauntered off deeper into the forest, Farina and Mimi came closer to meet and greet their new comrade in arms of the goal of Pokémon Master. He seemed to be settling in well, puffing out his chest area to the two females gaining different reactions. Farina turned her head away in disgust and huffed whilst Mimi tilted her costume's head in a manner of confusion over his actions. Kneeling down for better access to the Pokémon's head, the trainer decided to introduce herself. "Welcome to the team, Alcham, this is Mimi and Farina, and we are all gonna work really hard to show everyone that we are the best and we can be Masters. Do you want to be a part of that?"

The newly named Alcham jumped up and down in joy, showing his answer to the question rather vividly. It was only moments later when Misty's screams entered their ears that the four remembered that she had left them on their own, and she was the one who was fearful of bugs. Why she didn't send her own Pokémon out on the bugs types, Ash didn't know, but it would have made a lot of sense.

"Come on, let's go and defeat those other bug types before Misty screams the forest down," Ash smiled at her three Pokémon. "Plus, I'm worried she'll hurt herself if she isn't careful so we have to make sure of that as well. Think of defeating the bug types as a stamina training task until we reach a proper clearing to fully train you guys for the first Gym, okay?" A set of cheers followed and the small group rushed off in the direction Misty went off in, hoping she hadn't done anything stupid to try and get the bug types away from her heaven of a tree trunk.


End file.
